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4 Market Place

posted on 18 May 2010 | posted in Blog
There is a shop right in the middle of Bungay, opposite the ancient Butter Cross (with a larger than life size statue of Justice on top and the old goal cell, now blocked up, underneath) that used to sell all the gear gentlemen needed for huntin' and fishing. It was a wonderful shop, selling fishing rods, camping knives, woolly sleeves jerkins, fleece lined lumberjack shirts, formal dress shirts - everything. But it closed and Sonya moved her Hobbyhorse shop, a tiny little place selling ballet and gym gear, as well as school uniforms, into it.

She expanded into crafts and I spent many a happy while browsing among her papers and paints, picking over her beads and chatting. Sadly the recession meant that the business wasn't paying so Sonya had the bright idea of letting areas of the shop to others who were not yet ready to plunge into setting up their own shops.

4 Market Place was born in April this year. Already there are over 20 different businesses there - from recrafted vintage clothes and homewares to ceramics, cards, handcrafted bags, prints and paintings - everything. The shop also provides services such as key-cutting, shoe repair and clothes alterations. And me!

I rent a little bit of space, and a cabinet, from Sonya for a selection of my jewellery. It is early days for all of us yet, but the shop provides a great meeting place and here I can meet customers who would like me to repair their own treasured necklaces, or bring along something they have seen on the website so they can try it on and compare it with what I have in the cabinet.

My cabinet is also a good place to show different things and currently, alongside the semi-precious jewellery, I have some artisan pieces made using beads crafted by Berber tribes people in Morocco and craftspeople from Ghana, sourced from people here who work directly with them.

If ever you are in Bungay - pop into 4 Market Place and have a look around!